North Cook News

According to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, no patients with COVID-19 were admitted to any hospital in suburban Cook County for at least one day over a recent seven-day period.

The average in the region for hospitalizations over seven days as reported on Aug. 18 had been two. Suburban Cook County is home to 2.45 million people, or 20% of the total population of Illinois.

According to the data, no one with the coronavirus was admitted to a hospital on Aug. 15, while there were three the following day and none yet reported for earlier the following week, though there is likely a lag in reporting. The department was not immediately able to say how many patients are currently in the hospital or in intensive care units with the virus.

Dr. Rachel Rubin | https://cookcountyhealth.org/

However, as of Aug. 28, 1,519 COVID-19 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital, with 357 of them in ICU and 124 on ventilators.

In suburban Cook County, which does not include Chicago, Evanston, Oak Park, Skokie Stickney Township, a total of 47,717 cases were reported from the beginning of the epidemic to Aug. 20, with 7,212 hospitalizations and 2,231 in intensive care. More than 1,800 people have died from the virus in suburban Cook County.

Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) Senior Medical Officer Dr. Rachel Rubin told the North Cook News that the region is steadily improving.

"I would say that this is an important metric to follow to keep track of our capacity to take care of seriously ill COVID patients," Rubin said. "Currently, we have very low hospitalization rates, which is great. If we begin to see surges in hospitalizations, this would be a serious warning sign. Currently we are in great shape."

Kimberley Conrad-Junius, a spokesperson for the CCDPH, says the department is urging Cook County residents to wear masks, practice social distancing (wait) and wash their hands often to deter another outbreak.

"We are encouraging people to remain vigilant and practice the 3 W's to protect themselves and especially those at higher risk of illness and/or death from COVID-19," she said. 

Health officials announced last week that 1,740 tests came back positive for COVID-19 out of 34,175 tests given in one day. In total, 7,782 people have died in Illinois, while there have been 209,594 positive tests.

In suburban Cook County, Melrose Park, Cicero and Burnham have reported the highest number of positive tests per 100,000 people.